The Village Museum (Muzeul Satului, officially named de Muzeul Satului Dimitrie Gusti), was founded in 1936 and is a site of major importance in the culture and history of Romania. The rural life here has had a great significance along the time.
The territory of what would later become Romania was known as a mainly rural space ever since the times of the old Dacians. Along with the Roman conquest, several cities were built, but the province remained predominantly rural until the second half of the XXth century.
Although this proportion changed over the last few decades, Romania remains a country where the rural life has a great importance. What is interesting is that you can find museums dedicated to the rural universe in the Capital city.
The Village Museum has a surface of about 70 hectares and exhibits around 70 original houses from different regions of the country. The buildings are truly original, seeing that they were dissembled piece by piece, transported to the Capital and reassembled here, in the museum. This was all done thanks to the patience and thoroughness of the founder, Dimitrie Gusti.
What is surprising is the atmosphere Gusti has managed to create using an oil press, a water mill, a windmill and traditional original tools used along the ages. The atmosphere evokes more a natural park than a museum, which is very pleasant for the visitors.
The oldest house in the museum is built in the XVIIth century and the newest dates to the XIXth century.
One of the main attractions of the Village Museum is the vernacular architecture, based on the work of several anonymous craftsmen, as well as the educative stories displayed around the small houses and monuments in the museum.